Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Living on the Edge

I admit it - while summer is my absolute favorite season, part of me aches for fall. Not because of the weather, or the changing of the leaves - that's all good - but I enjoy football. Growing up in Florida I was able to watch 3 college fb teams continuously play for national championships which helped shape my love of the game. I'm the odd guy who doesn't get too excited about March madness, but give me football at any level from high school to the pros and I am happy.

I am a Florida State Seminoles fan - kinda like a fish out of water here in North Carolina. Even in my home state we always play second fiddle to the hated Florida Gators. But in my younger days it was easier to deal with because we had a pretty outstanding team. From 1987 until 2000 we (cause me being a fan was crucial in each and every victory) won at least 10 games each year and never finished out of the AP Top 5 poll. For 14 straight years! During that span we had a won-loss record of 152-19-1 (with 11 of those losses were by 7 points or less). We won 2 National Championships (and played for 3 others) and had 2 Heisman trophy award winners.

Unfortunately that and a dollar will buy me a Slurpee. As a team they cannot look to the past glory of the program. By now it's so far gone that many of these young players haven't known FSU as the powerhouse it once was. As a fan I can reflect fondly on the past, but I am all about the here and now. How's our QB (Christian Ponder - Heisman trophy candidate) doing? What's the defense looking like? How will our new coach - Jimbo Fisher - handle replacing an icon of the game? I am living on the edge right now - our first kickoff isn't for another 52 days. Let's go summer - hurry up! I am more than ready for that precious first whistle being blown.

But you know what - it's not time for kickoff yet. The teams aren't ready, the networks are not prepared with their game plans for televising the contest. The fields aren't ready. Much of what makes game day special is not in place yet, and won't be ready for many weeks. Everything has to happen in the appropriate time. So often I wish I could fast forward my life to the good parts - usually past the workday and to the work nights or the weekends - but that's not possible. It's not practical. Sometimes anticipation heightens the appreciation of the event. Like Christmas time as a young child. And my senses are all jacked up about college football.